Egg-separating and positioning machine



Nov. 15, 1949 c. PAGE 2,488,230

EGG-SEPARATING AND PosIToNING MACHINE Original Filed Deo. 27, 1946 /cznyce Page BY @MMV @07M Patented Nov. 15, 1949 UNITED STATES EGG-SEPARATING AND PosITIoNING MACHINE Clarence Page, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Page and Cox, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Original application December 27, 1946, Serial N o.V 718,755. Divided and thisv application Marchr 20, 1948, Serial No. 16,128

6 Claims.

This invention relates to egg-handling machinery, and in part to egg separating and positionlng machines.

One object of this invention is to provide an egg-positioning machine wherein the eggs, after being separated from their containers, are turned until their long axes are horizontal and the eggs themselves are separated laterally into spaced rows.

Another object is to provide an egg separating and positioning machine upon which the eggs are placed and which conveys the eggs While turning them, until the eggs at the end of their travel upon the conveyor are positioned with their long axes horizontal, at which time they are deposited upon egg rests from which they are conveyed to egg-weighing4 machines or other egg-handling machines by other apparatus.

Another object ls to provide an egg separating and positioning machine upon which the eggs are placed and which conveys them in diverging paths while rolling them around axes transverse to the direction of travel, until the eggs are deposited upon a row of transversely spaced egg rests with their long axes arranged horizontally and transversely to the direction of travel of the eggs. This is a division of my co-pending application Serial No. 718,755 iiled December 27, 1946, now Patent No. 2,481,440, September 6, 1949, for Egg-grading machine.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of an egg separating and positioning machine, according to a preferred form of the invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the egg separating and positioning machine shown in Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a fragmentary transverse vertical section taken along the line 3-3 in Figure l.

In general, the egg separating and positioning machine of the present invention, generally designated I2, is one unit of a multiple unit egg grading machine which includes two other units, namely an egg container removing machine, the left-hand end portion of which is shown at II, and an egg sorting or weighing unit, the right hand end portion of which is shown at I3. The container removing machine II is disclosed and claimed in my co-pending application Serial No.

16,127, filed March 20, 1948, for Machine for removing eggs from containers, which is a division of my co-pending application above-referred to, whereas the egg sorting machine I3 is disclosed and claimed in the above identiiied co-pending parent application.

The container removing machine II pries the bottoms downward away from the upper portions of the containers as the containers are pushed forward toward the egg-positioning machine I2, so that when the containers arrive at the right hand end of the machine I2 (Figure l) they are bottomless, the separated bottoms falling into a suitable receptacle. The upper portions of the containers are then lifted by the operator, leaving the eggs deposited upon the egg-positioning machine I2. This machine separates the eggs into rows which are spaced laterally from one another, and at the same time, rolls or turns the eggs until their long axes are transverse and horizontal. When the eggs, which at the same time are being conveyed by the egg-positioning machine I2, reach the left-hand end of the machine, they arey deposited upon a row of individual egg rests. The eggs remain upon these egg rests only momentarily before being picked up vand carried to the ,egg-Weighing or sorting machine I3, which weighs them and separates them into groups of diierent predetermined Weight ranges.

Referring to the drawings in detail, Figures 1 to 3 inclusive show theegg-positioning machine of this invention as connected to the egg container removing machine I I at its right-hand end and to the egg sorting or weighing machine I3 (Figure 2) at its left hand end. The details of the egg-container removing machine I I are fully disclosed in the above-mentioned divisional application and for the purposes of the present invention it is suliicient to say that the machine I I includes an upright support I4 mounted on trans-- verse angle brackets 20 which, in turn, are bolted to legs I9 which support the right hand end of the egg separating and positioning machine I2. Mounted upon the upright support I4 is a series of spaced parallel elongated stripping fingers 28, the forward ends (not shown) of which are pointed so as to pierce the egg containers at the junction of their bottoms and side portions and pry off the bottoms, leaving the eggs in the bottomless containers, resting upon the iingers 28. This is accomplished by pushing the egg container toward the fingers 28 and, after the bottoms have been separated, the operator con-l tinues to push the bottomless containers toward the egg separating and positioning machine I2. The fingers 28 are spaced apart laterally by amounts slightly less than the small diameter of an undersized egg.

The egg-positioning machine I2 includes a frame formed by a pair of vertical channel members 33 mounted on the upper ends of the legs I9 and with their channel portions facing one another. The channel members 33 are interconnected at intervals by upper and lower angle members 34 and 35 respectively (Figure 3) which in turn supportgupper.V and lower'diverging guide rails 36 and 31 respectively. The lower flanges of the channel members 33 are separated from the lower angle members 35 by spacing members 38. Bolted to the channel members 33.at their forward and rearward ends are pairs fV aligned.'

bearing bushings 39 and 40 respectively in which are journaled cross-shafts 4l andf42zrespectively1- Within the channels of the-'channel members 33v` the shafts 4I and 42 near their opposite ends carry sprockets 43 and 44 respectively, these sprockets being encircled by endless. chains 45.

Mounted between the endless chains 45 at intervals therealong are rods 46 carrying capstanshaped rollers or spools 41 (Figure 3"). The"` spools 41 are freely rotatable on the rods 46 and Sl'lb'l axially'- thle'r'lo'ng andare pri/dcd with annulargicovesfts near-theories meteoren-gageabl :with vguider ls" 36 and' 31';

rests-t. frhfegg'dests 5mi-"consister pairs offpare endless 'driving chain-sewage at its icweir end entire-ies e ieweispiocket (netsnown), which in tuin iscriv'eii 'i' 'power scu'rce.

m the oper in trieii cciitai temer removing the eggfcciitainerrs. fcrces the bottoms downward and 'eetacnes trieiii. ri-iel operator continues to push 'me rottiiifiless containers.. and their yeggs Aal'orig the negers 512i; until these pass ers. 218 criteri-,hef

on? the l'efteharrd-ends'o thefiin'g rollers 41. Meanwhile; tnefcnain sanas-'been dri-veil se aste fctateftii spools or rollers'VY 41"'tb iiovein orbital paths,

pull the bittoiiilessegg ente/i all of the eggs are depositedluponthlrelleifs 41',-

wnereufpcn the containerlee: lined/away frcmthe Y'egg'"sari-ci dista ded.- incstinstances, offftlie spools or rollers* 4i causes the tottoiiiiess'feggScentainer to :ride upward out of engagement Withf'th'eeggs' Without machine y"lV-2. and fattiie sanreftinfe are rolled ori tained-by reason orftaiesengageiaeiitfwitn sicherste atY their left-nana endsiiiteiceifiiiect alf ey cross Y member 49 1 (Figure 2).,wnich serves-a" aisuppcrt for egg-e efr-Hander rearward shaft azteai'riis aseecndfsprcckctfsson the outer one. thereof; this "being, encircled-by anl aft fand'causethe 4r l ine-H and slid toward the' l pointed lingers 2 8l' he enis'ef wed' their' way "between VtheA rippery poi-'Wens air-iti bottoms of ing transversely of the machine.

4 capstan-shaped rollers 41, the latter being rotated by their engagement with the stationary guide rails 31.,`Thus, as the eggs near the lefthand end of the machine (Figure 1) they are shifted from their original verticalpositions in the containers to horizontal-positions with their long axes extending transversely of the machine. When the eggs reach the left-hand end of the machine, they are deposited by the spools or rollers-41 upon the egg-rests 50 and are momentarily held in the concavely-bent portions 52 thereof with. their longaxes: still horizontal and extend- The action of the machine therefor separates the eggs into spaced rowsand places them in positions from whichvthey aremost conveniently picked up and 'carriedv tothe' weighing devices (not shown) which sort them' into different predetermined weightl ranges. y.

What I claim is:

.1;V An'regg separating andpositioning-machne comprising a support,V an endless conveyor onf said support carrying a multiplicityV of'Y axially" concave rollers arrangedwithf their axes* transverse to the directionof travelo'f saidrconveyor. said rollers being looselyJ mounted union saidL conveyor and freely` slidablef axiallyin divergingf paths relativelyto said conveyor, and'mechanismt for driving said conveyor.

2.. Ancgg separating andpositi'oning 'machine comprising a support; Vanfelndl'essfcoifiveyor on 'saldi' support carrying a multiplicityioff axiallycon-f cave rollers arranged witty-their axes transverse to the direction of.'travel'oisaidsconveyor sai'ci'l rollers losing` slidable' axially relatively'V to saldi conveyor, dii/erging. guides-engaging said` rollers-i to eilect axial sliding-lthereonduringtravel ofi said conveyor, and .mechanismiior driving saidi conveyor. y

3. An egg yseparating andipositionin'g 'machines' comprising a supportg- 'an-endless conveyor saizlv support carrying"y amultiplicity of: axiallyf concave -rollersi'arifange witntheirf aires 'transl' versev to the -direetionoitravel of said-fconveyor,r said rollers being` sli'dable'faiallyrelatively tof said conveyor, diveiglngwgiiides'i engaging salti? rollers to erle'ct axialis'lidingathereoftransversely-f to the direction; of ftravelrl ol'saidfconveyor landt inresponse tothe Lmoti'onoi'said conveyor, and"2v mechanism for driving said conveyor. l

4. An egg separating and po'sititnin'gf machine comprisingza support, .afpairfof Iendless conveyor elements arrangedrside loyisi'defthereoninspaced relationship, cross members "interconnecting lisai'd conveyor elem-ents at?" tewalslthere'along; a plurality of 'roliersfmountedzoneachidf-said .cross members, said rollers being loosely mounted upoilirv said 'cross f members ar'idfireely sllidabl'e 1 axial-ly in divergingmpathsa-lon'g' 'cross members-,andf mechanism forfdriving-:saidi conveyor elements in Ysynchronism.' Y Y '5. An 1 eggseparating and 'positioning machin'ef comprising a' supper-tapan of *endlesseonveyorf elements arranged side by side thereon in spaced? relationship., cross` bersf interconnecting saidfl conveyor elements at` intervals 'therealorrg la"v plurality of `rollers mounted oneach o'fsaid cross l members, said' rollers Ihei-iig.'islidalil'e aXial-'lyalon'gf said cross member-'s verging guides engaging said -rol-lois to effect axial' slidingth'erectduringe travel of sai-'d convey-or elements; and mecn'ari'fisin`Y foi* driving said conveyor-elements :synchronisl'n.

6; nAfn- 'egg' separating fand positicnii'ig machinecomprising a support, a pair of "endiesS-conveyor elements arranged side by side thereon in spaced relationship, cross members interconnecting said conveyor elements at intervals therealong, a plurality of rollers mounted on each of said cross members, said rollers having annular grooves therein and being slidable axially along said cross members, diverging guides engaging said grooves to effect axial sliding thereof during travel of said conveyor elements, and mechanism for driving said conveyor elements in synchronism.

CLARENCE PAGE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

Number 10 Number UNITED STATES PATENTS- Name Date Lyons June 6, 1899 Ahlburg Nov. 5, 1918 Erdle Dec. 26, 1922 Marsden Sept. 22, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Germany Sept. 22, 1934 

